Psalm 119:152 Your Statutes

Long ago I learned from your statutes
that you established them to last forever.
Psalm 119:152

Whose statutes are they?

The Jews liked to refer to "The Law of Moses", as though the Ten Commandments and the rest of the laws of the "Mosaic Covenant" were written by Moses himself.

But of course they weren't. The Lord established a covenant with Israel, with Moses as the nation's representative. And then God laid out the Law through Moses.

The scribes and teachers and lawyers, the Pharisees and Sadducees and Essenes, the rabbis and the Sanhedrin - they took God's statutes and endlessly dissected them and debated over them. They attached all sorts of specifications and speculations to them. They laid out punishments and loopholes. And they piled all their words together with God's statutes, so they could claim it all as their own.

Throughout the history of the church, theologians and church leaders have gone after the scriptures with doctrinal knitting needles, tying knots in God's words and weaving the Word into a garment of their own making. They've argued with each other for centuries over every part of their patterns. Like wolves in sheep's clothing they prey on their flock, forcing them to wear a fleece of their own design.

God's people throughout the centuries have failed to learn the most important thing from our study of the statutes: They are God's, and they are unchanging because He is unchanging. No matter how much we try to put words into His mouth, the Word is His.

Psalm 119:150-151 Near & Far

I'm surrounded by others as I walk along the one road of life. Some of them know the Lord like I do. Others think of God quite differently than I do. Still others don't think about God at all.

Recently I saw this post on Facebook:

Tonight, I was in a restaurant. At the table next to me were three women engaged in a loud conversation. The topic? Who they know that has recently died that is definitely in hell, since they belonged to the wrong church. As a bonus, one woman proudly discussed how she started an argument with her daughter, who had expressed that she wasn’t so sure that the person in question was actually in hell.

I’m not saying I know everything about being a Christian, or what it definitely looks like to follow Jesus. But I do know this: it doesn’t look like that.

There's a lot to unpack in that story. But I want to look at it in the light of Psalm 119:150-151

Those who devise wicked schemes are near,
but they are far from your law.
Yet you are near, Lord,
and all your commands are true.

Psalm 119:150-151

Considering all the near and far language, picture these verses as describing the relative positions of the characters, as though they're positioned on a stage.

The three main characters are (1) those who devise wicked schemes, (2) the Lord, and (3) the writer/narrator, David. But David stands in for the reader, you. So put yourself in the position of the third character, rather than David.

Also in the scene is a prop, to use stage terminology: the Law, or God's commands.

So picture yourself in the middle of the one road, which is the locale of this scenario, as it is for all of Psalm 119.

Where are the ones who devise wicked schemes? Are they far away?

No, they're near. They're walking on that same road, near you. Perhaps at a nearby table. That's probably why David mentions them at all, because they are nearby. They're closer than makes him comfortable, considering their known tendency to devise wicked schemes.

This is true, though, isn't it? We're constantly surrounded by people of all sorts - good people, bad people, faithful people, unfaithful people, loving people, hateful people. And people who devise wicked schemes.

Where is God in this scene? He's also near to David, to you.

So there we all are on the road together. The wicked schemers are near me, and God is also near me. Simple logic and geometry then tells us God is also near them.

And yet they are far from His law. Even though God is staying close by them on their journey, they're ignoring Him and they're ignoring His law - His ways, His wisdom, His heart.

So, let's go back to the restaurant where my Facebook friend overheard the conversation. These people, who apparently thought of themselves as Christians (who belong to the right church) seem to be shockingly unaware that even if the people they're talking about are actually in the wrong church or actually are destined for hell, God is near them.

God isn't sitting up on His throne looking down on those hell-bound people. He's not pointing his finger at them and dishing gossip with the angels about how lost they are. God is walking beside them. The Holy Spirit is at work, trying to draw them closer to Him and to His Word.

They're also shockingly ignorant of the fact that as believers who are near to these "lost" people on the road of life, they are in fact the very people God most wants to use to draw them closer to Him and His ways.

Instead, they're content to gossip about them.

Another thought: Who, in this Facebook story, are the ones who are "devising wicked schemes"? Yes, it's the self-righteous Christians.

And yet another thought: Who, at the moment these women were loudly misrepresenting the love of God to a restaurant full of people, was God's closest person who could accurately represent Him to these wicked women?

Yes, that would be my friend, who posted the tale on Facebook.

He doesn't go on to tell what he did next, but if I know him at all I suspect he stopped by their table and dropped a few seeds of kindness and perspective into their lives.

When you encounter people near you who are devising wicked schemes, don't settle for just talking about them or posting on social media about them. They're right there, near you. And so is God. He'll be right there with you, His hand on your shoulder, His thoughts on your lips, His Spirit in your heart, if you'll just recognize the opportunity for what it is.

Psalm 119:149 Love, Life, Law

Hear my voice in accordance with your love;
preserve my life, Lord, according to your laws.
Psalm 119:149

We've all seen it played out on TV or in the movies. Or maybe you've seen it played out in life.

There's a runaway who's in big trouble. She's scared to call home to ask Dad for help. He'll be angry. He'll yell. He won't want to help.

Of course, eventually she calls, or a police officer or social worker calls. Her father is overwhelmed with happiness to hear her voice and rushes to pick her up and welcome her back.

And yet, when she gets back home, her father tells her she's welcome to stay, but there will be rules she'll need to follow. She rebels again, fighting against the restrictions and resenting the accusations that her lifestyle is unacceptable.


If it's been awhile since you prayed, maybe it's because you think the Father doesn't want to hear from you after all these years. He'll be angry with you.

Except that when you eventually do cry out to God, you discover He's been there all along, waiting for you.  Because He loves you.

His love is a relief, but then there's all those laws. Do you really have to change your lifestyle to fit into God's way of looking at life? Like the runaway, it's hard to accept that the Father really does know that some rules are necessary. It's the way life works best.

David uses the phrase "preserve my life" a dozen times in Psalm 119 and, the same as the other eleven times, here it means to quicken or revitalize my life.

Sure, you can choose to live a lifestyle according to your own whims and random decision-making, but living according to a plan and aiming toward a purpose really is a better way to live a fantastic life. The Lord knows the secret to a vibrant life, according to His laws.

There are other people who choose to organize their lives around an approach to the Bible that results in a dull and constricted life. Understanding the law as a reflection of the heart of God makes all the difference. Follow His laws as a guide to His love. In that direction lays life at its brightest.

Fruitful Politics: Love

No good tree bears bad fruit... (Luke 6:43-45)

The following plea appeared in my Facebook feed on a primary day in March 2016:

To my brothers and sisters in Christ. Please don't vote in anger and frustration but vote for the candidate who will make God first again in our great nation.

I appreciate the sentiment, although I may not agree with the political assumptions behind the words.

To my mind, if brothers and sisters in Christ really want to be fruitful in putting God first in our great nation, we won't be putting the emphasis on the right opinions or moral platforms. It will look more like Spirit-driven Christians bearing the Spirit's fruit in abundance as they walk with the Spirit through the minefields of politics.

The first among Paul's list of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) is Love.

During Jesus' three year ministry, his priority was always on loving God, loving your neighbor, and loving your enemies. On the few occasions when he was confronted with political questions or politically sensitive topics, he always responded in a way that demonstrated his focus on those three things: love for God, love for your neighbor, and love for your enemies.

In 21st century America, everyone and every topic has become polarized. Even many Christians have bought into the either/or approach to issues and to people. If you're a supporter of Candidate A, you should despise and believe the worst about their opponent. If you agree with Policy X, you must believe the worst about people who are opposed to X.

Believe it or not, it's possible to love the Bible's teachings about morality and yet still love immoral people, whether they be homosexuals, liars, greedy, crude, or just plain flawed like the rest of us. In fact, that's the second greatest of the Bible's teachings.

It's possible - and praiseworthy - to love both the sinners and the saved.

It's possible to have loving compassion on the very real oppression experienced by black people while also loving and honoring law enforcement officials. It's also possible to resist turning such tensions into memes that reduce people and their problems into labels and jokes.

It's possible to have strong views about the politics of immigration and yet respond to immigrants - legal or illegal - with an abundance of love.

It's possible to form an opinion about something and choose to keep it to yourself for the sake of actively loving people who might disagree with you.

We would do well to read Paul's treatise on love in I Corinthians 13 over and over again during political season. His practical, down-to-earth description of love in action would help us to bear fruit when we talk politics.

• The fruitful Christian will respond to the belligerence of politically intense people with patience.

• Rudeness and insult won't be a part of the kind demeanor of the fruitful Christian.

• The fruitful Christian will avoid dishonoring others in our conversations and our social media posts - even if those others are politicians who seem to have little honor.

• The fruitful Christian is not easily angered, not even by people whose political viewpoints seem in extreme opposition to godliness and justice.

• The fruitful Christian won't be constantly looking for every little slip-up an opposing candidate or politician makes, keeping a record of wrongs, amplifying the faults of the "wrong" politician and glossing over the faults of the "right" person.

Politicians and hot topics come and go, but love never fails.


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This is the first in a series of edited and updated blog posts first posted during the political season of 2016.

Psalm 119:148 Still Calling

My eyes stay open through the watches of the night,
that I may meditate on your promises.

Psalm 119:148

My son moved away from his home town over a year ago. He was drawn to the big city by a job (from which he's since moved on through two additional new jobs), and a girl (with whom he's since bought a house and created a home).

He still calls me or, more often, texts me.

When he's feeling under the weather, he Googles his symptoms and then calls me. He trusts I'll have some sort of insight into the meaning of his symptoms and the complexities of the Google results. Cancer is always listed as one of the possible causes of every symptom.

When he has questions about money or about the tantalizing possibilities of yet another new job, he calls me, putting his faith in my years of experience. Sometimes he follows my advice.

By the act of calling me, he not only reconnects with me but lets me know he still relies on me, even though the actual need for my guidance is dwindling rapidly.

Our conversations usually begin with a question not unlike numerous questions he's asked before. I ask him some questions in response, helping him think it through and come up with his own answers. I seldom offer any advice that he hasn't heard before from me before.

In the year since he moved away, the frequency of the calls and texts has dropped considerably. It's not that he's forgotten me, but he's developed more confidence in his ability to solve his own problems and answer his own questions. He has more faith in the principles he's learned to base his life upon.


We're told in the Word that we need to call on the Lord. Why?

It's not as though we have to check in with God every time we face a choice, asking his advice and waiting for his answer. There are only a few limited categories of choices, a short list of universal sins and elemental biblical principles to apply to those situations.

As we mature in our faith, those statutes will pop into our minds automatically, without the need to actually open the pages of the bible or bend the knees in prayer.

And yet we still need to call on the Lord.

Calling on the Lord begins in the worst of times.

I called on your name, Lord, from the depths of the pit.

Lamentations 3:55

But to really build a confident faith requires discipline. It requires carrying on a conversation with the Lord according to a regular schedule and practice.

As for me, I call to God, and the Lord saves me. Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice.

Psalm 55:16-17

Casting aside the foolishness of an immature faith doesn't come automatically with age. I know plenty of older men who are still chasing after the evil desires of youth. Sometimes I'm guilty of that myself.

A lifetime of habitually calling on the Lord helps to purifies the focus of the heart and ingrains habits of righteousness.

Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

II Timothy 2:22

In the act of calling, faith finds its voice. In the act of obedience, faith finds its confidence.